-
2 weeks ago | 
corememory.com | Ashlee Vance
Sam Altman has placed a handful of big bets on a handful of the most exciting technologies going. OpenAI speaks for itself on the AI front. Altman has then backed Helion for energy, World for finance…
-
2 weeks ago | 
corememory.com | Ashlee Vance
Chris Kemp does not care for the ending to HBO’s documentary Wild, Wild Space. In the last scene of the film, a handsome, erudite pundit is describing the financial perils being faced by Astra Space, the rocket company co-founded and run by Kemp. It’s noted that Astra’s cash has evaporated as it scrambles to complete Rocket 4 – the product on which the company’s future hinges.
-
2 weeks ago | 
corememory.com | Ashlee Vance
If you’ve seen HBO’s Wild, Wild Space or read When the Heavens Went on Sale, then Chris Kemp needs no introduction. Kemp is one of the stars in both works. For the less familiar, Kemp is the co-founder and CEO of Astra Space, a maker of rockets based in Alameda, Calif. For several years now, Astra has been on a quest to create the cheapest, easiest to launch rocket in the market and to turn rocket-making into a mass production affair.
-
3 weeks ago | 
corememory.com | Ashlee Vance
When my wife received a cancer diagnosis recently, I did what any well-connected journalist+husband would do. I called in every favor possible to try and use my contacts’ status and resources to my advantage. (It was ethically dodgy but not Crime and Punishment levels of dodgy or at least that’s how I rationalized the situation.)My first call – naturally – went to Bryan Johnson.
-
3 weeks ago | 
corememory.com | Ashlee Vance
A new AI alignment player has entered the arena. Emmett Shear, Adam Goldstein and David Bloomin have set up shop in San Francisco with a 10-person start-up called Softmax.
-
3 weeks ago | 
corememory.com | Ashlee Vance
A couple of weeks ago, we brought you the story of Alljoined. It’s a start-up working on mind-reading technology from the confines of a very San Francisco hardware house. We’re now pleased to give you a direct look at the start-up via Node 1.2 of our Core Memory sci-tech series.
-
1 month ago | 
corememory.com | Ashlee Vance
We flipped the tables on Dwarkesh Patel this week and turned the podcaster into the podcastee. Over the past few years, Patel has made a name for himself as a stellar interviewer of interesting people. Whether questioning a scientist, historian or tech engineer, Patel always goes deep with the subject and refuses to dumb things down for any audience. This is a blessing in an era of our attention being seized by 30-second blips and bloops on our phones and social apps.
-
1 month ago | 
corememory.com | Ashlee Vance
Core Memory is a podcast about science and technology hosted by best-selling author and filmmaker Ashlee Vance. Vance has spent the past two decades chronicling advances in science and tech for publications like The Economist, The New York Times and Bloomberg Businessweek. Along with the stories, he's written best-selling books like Elon Musk’s biography, made an Emmy-nominated tech TV show watched by millions and produced films for HBO and Netflix.
-
1 month ago | 
corememory.com | Ashlee Vance
Well, here we go. The first episode of our new Core Memory tech series. In late January, Boom broke the sound barrier with its XB-1 jet. Our intrepid crew was on the ground to witness the event and to interview the folks at Boom who helped make the flight happen. Come with us to Mojave, California not only to see the flight but also to learn some Mojave history. It’s a special place that lets people do special things.
-
1 month ago | 
corememory.com | Ashlee Vance
Few figures in Brain Computer Interface Land can match Max Hodak’s output over the past decade. He helped start Neuralink in 2016 and then went on to start Science Corp. in 2021. Science has been working on implants to help restore vision and has clinical trials underway with the technology. The company has also built out a line of brain computer interface products for others to use and is exploring some very weird and promising technology around lab-built neurons that can be infused into brains.